Humidifier



M., G. STEELE Jul 2, 1929.

HUMIDIFIER 2 Sheets-Sheet- Filed April 20, 1927 INVENTOR Maurice 6'.Steele ATTORN M. G. STEELE July 2, 1929.

HUMIDIFIER Filed April 20, 192'? 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR M a eu'zce-Sieele ATTORNE Patented July 2, 1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MAURICE G. STEELE, OF FARMINGTON, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE HART &

HUTCHINSON COMPANY, OF NEW BRITAIN, CONNECTICUT,

CONNECTICUT.

Application filed April 20,

This invention relates to a humidifier adapted to be arranged adjacent asource of heat for moistening the air heated thereby.

One object of this invention is to provide a humidifier including amoistened absorbent sheet for rapidly'delivering a large quantity ofmoisture to the heated air and in which the rate of humidification willbe automatically regulated according to the relative humidity of the airin the room.

A further object is to provide a humidifier of the above nature in whichthe moistened sheet will be maintained in a downwardly extendingposition adjacent the source of heat and having means responsive to therate of evaporation for automatically controlling the amount of moisturesupplied to said sheet.

A further object is to provide a humidifier of the above nature in whichthe ends of the moistened absorbent sheet are adapted to simultaneouslyabsorb water from a pair of water tanks, the supply of water to saidtanks being regulated by the rate of evaporation from one end of saidsheet.

A further object is to provide a device ofthis nature which will besimple in construetion, inexpensive to manufacture, easy to install andmanipulate, compact, and very efiicient and durable in use.

With these and other objects in view there have been illustrated on theaccompanying drawings two forms in which the invention may beconveniently embodied in practice.

Fig. 1 represents a side view of a radiator and improved humidifier asthey appear when assembled in operating position.

Fig. 2 is a sectional View of the same.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the apparatus taken along the line 33 ofFig. 2 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the absorbent humidifying sheet.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view of the receiving tank showing the inlet valvemechanism for automatically controlling the supply of wa ter thereto.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view of the drain trough and float chamber showingthe float for controlling the inlet valve mechanism of the receivingtank.

Fig. 7 is a sectional view of a modified form of drain tank having a,small auxiliary absorbent sheet.

HUMIDIFIER.

1927. Serial No. 185,107.

Figs. 8, 9, and 10' are sectional views of the receiving tank underthree different operatmg conditions.

The present invention provides a humiditier having a moistened absorbentevaporatmg sheet which may be arranged vertically ad acent a radiator orother source of. heat together with mechanism for automaticallysupplying the proper amount of moisture to said sheet in accordance withthe humidification requirements. By means of this construction, theupwardly moving warm air passing between the moistened sheet and thesource of heat produces a very eflicient evaporative action and resultsin a substantial humidification of the air in the room.

Referring now to the drawings in which like reference numerals denotecorresponding parts throughout the several views, the numeral 10indicates a radiator resting upon a floor 11 adjacent a Wall 12 of aroom. The humidifying apparatus consists essentially of three verticallydisposed tanks 13, 14:, and 15, hereinafter designated as the mainsupply tank, the receiving tank, and the drip tank, respectively.

The main supply tank 13 is supported above the radiator 10 in anysuitable manner as by means of a triangular bracket 16, said bracketbeing secured to the wall 12 in any suitable manner, as by screws 17. Itwill be understood, that if desired, however, the tank 13 may besupported directly upon the top of the radiator, within the spirit andscope of the invention. The supply tank 18 is preferably provided with acover 18, preferably hinged as at 19, so as to permit access to saidtank for cleaning and filling. A gauge glass 20 is preferably providedon the outside of the tank 13 for indicating the level of the watertherein, and said tank is preferably connected to the water supply line21 by means of a shut-off valve 22. If. desired, a float actuated valve,not shown, may be provided within the tank 18 to automatically maintaina constant level of water therein.

Depending from the tank 13 is an outlet pipe 23 connected to which is amanually-operated shut-off Valve 2 1, from which the water flows througha short pipe 25 to a flexible. hose connection 26 leading to-thereceiving tank 14.

In order to prevent dirt and other materials from passing into the tank14, afine mesh A CORPORATION OF strainer 26 is provided on the bottom ofthe tank 18 for covering the outlet to the pipe 23. The receiving tank14 is secured in any suitable manner to the rear surface of a verticalpanel 27, which if desired, may comprise the front part of a radiatorcabinet or enclosure not shown. Moreover, a suitable cover, not shown,may be employed for keeping dust out of the receiving tank 14.

It is also within the scope of this invention to support the panel 27 orradiator enclosure either from the wall of the room or from the radiatoritself. Moreover, the humidifier and radiator may be sold separately oras a unit enclosed within a suitable cabinet.

The drip tank 15 is secured to the rear of the panel 27 near the bottomthereof and is adapted to lie directly below the tank 14 in approximatevertical alinement therewith. The liquid in the receiving tank 14 ismaintaincd at a substantially constant level by means of a verticaloverflow pipe 28 which passes down through the bottom of said tank 14and is joined thereto, as by solder. The lower end of the pipe 28projects into a cylindrical float chamber 29 having a cover 30 andcontaining a float 31, said chamber 29 being connected by a horizontalpassage 31 to a vertical passage 32 leading to the drip tank 15.

In order to diminish the capillary wall that builds up around the top ofthe overflow pipe 28 just before the water overflows into the lower tank29, the top of the pipe 28 is, preferably but not necessarily, given asharp edge 28. This construction reduces the amount of water which willpass into the overflow pipe each time the float valve 30 functions.

The supply of water in the receiving tank 14 is maintained by anintermittently-operated needle valve 32, and as clearly shown in Fig. 5said needle valve is vertically slidable in a collar 33 threaded intothe top of a valve housing 34. The valve housing 34 has a lower inletneck 35 into which is screwed an elbow pipe 36 connected with the hose26 leading from the supply tank 13.

The top of the needle valve is pivotally connected to a lever 37 thelatter being fulcrumed on a supporting bar 33 and having its other endpivoted at 38 to a depending rod 39. The lower end of the rod 39 isthreaded, and adjustably connected to a collar on the top of the float31, by a lock nut 40.

As will. be clear from 6, the clearance between the float 31 and itssurrounding chamber 29 is so small that only a slight additi on to thequantity of water in the chamber 29, coming either from the overflowpipe 28 or the sheet 45, will be sufficient to cause the float 31 torise and close the needle valve 32. Similarly, a slight decrease in theamount of water in the chamber 39 caused by the evaporation of the waterfrom the absorbent sheet 45, to be hereinafter more fully described,will cause the float 31 to drop and open the needle valve 32.

The drip tank 15 is preferably divided by a vertical partition 41 into arear wick compartment 42 and a front reserve compartment 42, but it isto be understood that the apparatus will function successfully when thepartition 41 is omitted. The compartment 42 is provided with anelongated wick 43, said wick having a depending portion 44 extendinginto the vertical passage 32 leading to the float chamber 29. The wick43 preferably extends throughout the length of the wick compartment 42and is made of any suitable absorbent material, such as felt In order toproduce a rapid humiohfying action, provision is made of a moistenedabsorbent sheet 45, preferably constructed of terry cloth toweling,although any other sultable absorbent material may be employed. Thesheet 45 is preferably rectangular in shape having its upper and lowerends provided with hems 46 and 47 through which brass rods 48 and 49 areadapted to pass. The rods 48 and 49 serve as weights to maintain thesheet 45 in proper position at all times. The lower hem 47 of the sheet45 is adapted to rest on the top of the wick 43 in absorbent contacttherewith, while the upper hem 46 of the sheet 45 is dropped down overthe inner edge of the receiving tank 14 and rests upon a plurality ofU-shaped brackets 50, four in this instance, as clearly shown in Figs. 8to 10.

By means of this construction, it will be seen that the absorbent sheet45 may be readily removed from the apparatus for cleaning or renewal,merely by lifting its weighted ends from the tanks 14 and 15. The sheet45 is'prevented from coming in contact with the radiator 10 by means ofa plurality of horizontal U-shaped cross-rods 51, two in this in stance,which are secured at their ends to the panel 27 as by rivets 52.

.The brackets 50 serve to maintain the upper hem 46 of the absorbentsheet 45 at a predetermined level in the receiving tank 14 with respectto the top of the overflow pipe 28. If desired, the overflow pipe may beprovided with an upper screw collar, not shown, so as to permitadjustment of the height of said pipe and thereby alter the level atwhich the water will overflow into the float tank 29.

The partition 42 separating the compartments of the drip tank 15 isprovided with a V-shaped overflow groove 52, whereby water will bepermitted to overflow from the wick compartment 42 whenever the levelrises above the bottom of said groove 52.

In operation, the main supply tank 13 will be kept filled with cleanwater either maned to the water shut-off valve 22. Atthe start, thefloat 31 will rest upon the bottom of the float chamber 29 therebyholding the needle valve 32 in open position. Water will then bepermitted to flow from the supply tank 13 through the valve housing 34into the receiving tank 14 where it will rise until it passes downthrough the overflow pipe 28 into the float chamber 29 causing thefloat31 to rise and close the needle valve 32 Water will thus besupplied to the absorbent sheet 45 from both ends and it will rapidlybecome completely moistened by capillary action. As the water evaporatesfrom the lower end of the sheet 45, it will be drawn up from the wick 43until the water in said wick eventually becomes so exhausted that thefloat 29 will fall and open the needle valve 32". The tanks 14 and 15will thus be given a fresh supply of water and the operation justdescribed will be repeated. The apparatus will continue to function inthismanner intermittently, the frequency of the valve openings beingresponsive to the speed of evaporation of the water from the sheet 45which speed is roughly inversely proportional to the relative humidityof the air in the room.

- Normally, before passing down into the overflow pipe, the water willbuild up to a level somewhat above the top edge 28 thereof. Thisphenomenon is caused by the surface tension of the water. The brackets50 are preferably so positioned within the receiving tank 14 thattheupper hem 46 of the sheet 45 will lie approximately 4 of an inchabove the top of the overflow pipe 28, which is just equal to the heightto which the water in'the receiving tank will build up by surfacetension when it overflows into the pipe 28. The surface of the waterwill thus just come into contact with the upper hem 46 as shown in Fig.9. Water will thus be absorbed by the sheet 45 (see Figs. 9 and 10), andwill then pass over the edge of the tank 14 and down in front of theradiator.. By locating the brackets as above described, water will beabsorbed by the top portion of the sheet 45 only when the wateroverflows into the pipe 28.

Fig. '8 shows the appearance of the receiving tank 14 when the waterlevel is below the top of the overflow pipe 28 and out of contact withthe upper hem 46.

Fig. 9 shows the appearance of the receiving tank 14 after the level ofthe water has risen sufficiently to wet the brackets 50 and be absorbedby the sheet 45, but before any water has overflowed through the pipe28. Water will then be drawn up by capillary action through the neck 53.

After the water has overflowed into the pipe 28 the needle valve 32 willclose shutting oil the supply of water to the tanks 14 and 15. Waterwill then be drawn up through the hem 46 into the top of the sheet 45.The

neck 53 gradualy becomes smaller and smaller until it finally breaksaway, as shown at 53 in Fig. 10. The supply of moisture to the top ofthe sheet 45 will then cease and the conditions will again become asillustrated in Fig. 8.

One advantage of this construction is that only a very small amount ofwater will be supplied to the top of the sheet 45 with each functioningof the float valve. This results in more frequent downward impulses ofwater into the top of the sheet 45 and produces a more even moisteningthereof. The above-mentioned action thus introduces a very desirabletime element into the moistening action, inasmuch as this actionapproach-es a continuous automatic supply of moisture. i

It has been found by experiment that the speed at which the water willbe absorbed by the top of the humidifying sheet 45 varies inversely withthe height of the top of the tank 14 above the water level, and thisheight is so regulated by the'size of the brackets 50 that under normalconditions only enough water will be drawn up from the receiving tank ascan be easily evaporated from the upper part of the absorbent sheet 45.In this manner the excessof unevaporated water from the receiving tank14 which flows down by gravity through the evaporating sheet into thedrip tank 15 willbe reduced to the minimum.

The float chamber 29 is so disposed vertically relative to the bottom ofthe drip tank 15 that the float 31 will rise and close the needle valve32 when the water level in said chamber is slightly below the bottom ofthe drip tank. By means of this construction, any excess of water in thedrip tank 15 not absorbed by the wicks 43 and 44 will gravitate readilythrough the passages 32 and 31 into the float chamber 29. It will beunderstood that even if all the water has been evaporated from the upperportion of the absorbent sheet 45, the lower portion of said sheet byvirtue of its contact with the wick 43 will continue to absorb waterfrom the tank 15 by capillary attraction to aheight of about 9 inches.Evaporation will then continue in the lower end of the sheet 45 untilsufficient water has been removed from the drip tank 15 to cause thefloat 29 to fall and again open the needle valve 32. It will thus beseen that the rate of evaporation from the lower partof the absorbentsheet 45 constitutes the most important element affecting the timebetween successive openings of the needle valve 32. The rate ofabsorption by the wicks 43 and 44 thus largely determines the length oftime the valve remains open. 2

After several successive valve openings and the resultant impulses ofwater, the evaporating sheet 45 should become thoroughly moistened andevaporation should proceed at a satisfactory rate. If, however, the rateof evaporation is low, due perhaps to a high existing relative humidityin the room, the excess of water flowing down into the drip tank 15 fromthe absorbent sheet will delay the next opening of the valve until saidexcess of water has been evaporated. Under these conditions the floatvalve will function less frequently and the amount of water supplied tothe evaporating sheet 45 will be automatically regulated in inverseproportion to the amount of moisture in the room. If too great an excessof water accumulates in the wick compartment 42 of the drip pan 15, itwill overflow through the notch 52 into the reserve'compartment 42 whereit will subsequently evaporate slowly independently of the sheet 45.

In the modified form of the invention shown in Fig. 7, the bottom hem4;? of the sheet 45 is adapted to rest in the bottom or the frontcompartment 42 of the drip tank 15, and an auxiliary absorbent sheet 53is employed to evaporate the moisture absorbed from the float chamber.The sheet 58 has its lower weighted hem 54 in contact with the wick 43,while the upper weighted hem 55 hangs down over the edge of an open wiresupport 56 so that said sheet 53 will lie in proximity to the front ofthe rediator. The auxiliary wick 53 will thus serve to evaporate thewater from the float chamber 29 and also any excess of water overflowingfrom the compartment 42. The evaporative action of the auxiliary sheet53 will be independent of that of the sheet 45, and any possible excessof water which may flow down into the compartment 42 from the sheet 45will not retard the valve action unless it builds up an excesssufliciently to overflow into the forward compartment 42.

While there have been disclosed in this specification two forms in whichthe invention maybe embodied, it is to be understood that these formsare shown for the purpose of illustration only, and that the inventionis not to be limited to the specific disclosures but may be modified andembodied in various other forms without departing from its spirit. Inshort, the invention includes all the modifications and embodimentscoming within the scope of the following claims.

Having thus fully described the invention, what is claimed as new, andfor which it is desired to secure Letters Patent. is:

1. In a humidifier, an upwardly extending moistened absorbentevaporating sheet, a water tank, a drip tank below said sheet, one edgeof said sheet being bent over into said water tank and positioned justabove the normal level of the water therein, the other edge being incontact with the liquid in the drip tank, and means controlled by thedropping of the level in said drip tank for intermittently raising thelevel of the water in said water tank into momentary contact with saidedge for permitting moisture to be absorbed thereby by capillary action,thereby cutting down the supply of water at each operation of the valveand regulating the amount of water absorbed.

2. In a humidifier, a moistened absorbent evaporating sheet, one edgeof: said sheet being supported just above the normal level of a body ofwater, and means for intermittently raising the level of said body ofwater into momentary contact with said edge whereby the water will bedrawn up above said surface into said sheet by capillary attraction.

3. In a humidifier, a source of water supply, a receiving tank connectedwith said source, a moistened absorbent evaporating sheet, the upper endof said sheet being bent downwardly into said tank for receiving anintermittent supply of water therefrom by absorption, a drip tank belowsaid sheet and arranged for receiving the excess water which drainstherefrom, said receiving tank having an overflow pipe for moisteningthe lower part of said sheet, a float chamber communicating with saiddrip tank, a float in said chamber, the overflow from said receivingtank being delivered to said float chamber through said overflow pipe,and means operated by the mot-ion of said float for opening and closingthe connection between said receiving tank and said source of watersupply.

I. In a humidifier, a panel member, said panel member having a receivingtank and a drip tank mounted at its upper and lower ends respectively,an overflow pipe for carrying excess water from said receiving tank intosaid drip tank, a moistened sheet having its upper and lower edgesextending into said tanks, means for intermittently supplying water tosaid receiving tank, and means controlled by the amount of water in saiddrip tank for controlling the amount of water supplied to both of saidtanks.

5. In a humidifier, a downwardly extending moistened evaporating sheet,an upper tank for supplying water to the upper end of said sheet, a driptank at the lower end of said sheet for catching the excess water whichdrains therefrom, an overflow connection for delivering excess waterfrom said upper tank to said drip tank, said drip tanlr having a reservecompartment to receive water from said drip tank when the latteroverflows, a float chamber communicating with said drip tank, a wick inthe passage'between drip tank and said float chamber, and a float insaid float chamber for controlling the supply of water to both ends ofsaid sheet.

6. I11 a humidifier, a moistened absorbent evaporating sheet weighted atits ends and ex tending downwardly, a pair of water tanks arranged oneabove the other, a pipe depending from said upper tank for carrying theoverflow therefrom into said lower tank, the upper end of said sheetbeing bent over into said upper tank for receiving a supply of watertherefrom, the lower end of said sheet resting in said lower tank forreceiving a supply of water therefrom and to allow excess water fromsaid upper tank to drain therein, and means for automatically andintermittently supplying water to said upper tank.

7. In a humidifier, a moistened absorbent evaporating sheet, a watersupply tank, a plurality of U-shaped brackets mounted in the top of saidtank, the upper end of said sheet being bent downwardly into said tankand supported on said brackets just above the normal level of the waterin said tank, and means for intermittently raising the level of water insaid tank into momentary contact with said upper end whereby water willbe absorbed thereby by capillary attraction.

8. In a humidifier, a pair of vertically spaced tanks, a moistenedabsorbent evaporating sheet having its ends in said tanks, means forsupplying water to the upper of said tanks for capillary absorption bythe upper end of said sheet, and an overflow pipe connecting said tankswhereby excess water from said upper tank will'be supplied directly tothe lower of said tanks for capillary absorption by the lower end ofsaid sheet, the excess of water supplied to the upper end of said sheetbeing indirectly delivered to said lower tank through said sheet, and afloat in said lower tank for controlling the supply of water to bothends of said sheet.

9. In a humidifier, an upwardly extending moistened absorbentevaporating sheet, a water tank, a drip tank, one edge of said sheetbeing bent over into said water tank and positioned just above thenormal level of the water therein, the other edge of said sheet being incontact with the liquid in said drip tank, and means including anoverflow pipe defining said normal level and delivering to said driptank, and a water supply valve controlled by the level of water in saiddrip tank for intermittently raising the level of water in said watertank into momentary contact with the upper edge of said sheet forpermitting moisture to be absorbed thereby.

10. In a humidifier, an upwardly extending absorbent evaporating sheet,a water supply tank, one edge of said sheet being positioned just abovethe normallevel of water in said supply tank, said tank having anoverflow pipe for determining said normal level, and means forintermittently causing the water to overflow and thus to risemomentarily above said normal level and come into contact with said edgefor permitting water to be absorbed thereby.

In testimony whereof, I have aflixed my signature to this specification.

MAURICE G. STEELE.

